


Exile

by LadyoftheNight



Series: Knights of the Old Republic [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Genre: F/M, Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-02
Updated: 2014-11-11
Packaged: 2017-12-25 11:16:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/952436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyoftheNight/pseuds/LadyoftheNight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Revan is left in a coma, but the Republic needs a leader.  Who better to fill in than the Jedi Exile?<br/>I own nothing!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Carth.

The name echoed through her head. It was one of the only things that seemed to be there. Carth was not her name, of that she was sure, but she could not place the name with a face. She had a feeling that she'd seen a lot of faces, but this Carth person, that face mattered. His name (she thought it was a male name) meant more to her than her own name.  
There were so many feelings connected to that simple name. Love to a degree she was sure she'd only felt for the other name in her head, guilt, hope, joy, everything. 

The other name...it twisted and changed every time she tried to catch it. Almost like it couldn't decide if it wanted to be Alek or Malak. There was much emotion within that name as well, but they were almost faded, as though with time. The love that was there was tainted with the darkness of hatred and regret mixed with more guilt than she'd have thought possible. Something had happened between her and this Alek person. Something that she felt was entirely all her fault.

But beyond those two names, and all that emotion, there was nothing. Her mind was blank. She was nothing to herself. Her entire life seemed to be centered on others, on making sure they were the ones that mattered.  
Maybe that was where she'd gone wrong with Alek. Maybe she'd stopped making him important and became too self serving.

Yes, that was it. She'd done something-become something terrible. But it didn't seem to be entirely her own fault. Alek hadn't been blameless either, but there was something else, something darker...  
A jolt of clarity sent a memory back to her.

"Revan." The rasping voice was talking to her. Revan. That must have been her name.  
"Yeah?" Her own voice was pretty broken.  
The darkness of the vision lifted slightly, to a degree that she could actually see a murky image.  
A tall, bald man in ragged robes was leaning awkwardly against a wall, next to a woman that could only have been her. Suddenly, she knew herself. The straight black hair, the green eyes...everything. She was Revan.  
"We're not going to make it through this, are we?" That voice...yes, it was Alek. No. Malak. There was a difference.  
She didn't reply.  
"I thought not." He sighed and adjusted to look at her face better, and it was only then she realized they were both bound to the wall.  
"Rev, I just wanted to say-"  
"Don't, please." Her voice shattered then, and for a few moments she was quiet, trying to regain her confidence. "Don't say anything you wouldn't if we weren't here."  
"But we are here." In comparison, Malak's voice was stronger, more self assured. "And we both know we're not getting out of here."  
"We might."  
"That's a filthy lie."  
The ghost of a smirk passed over her lips. In return, a tattered chuckle broke through his facade of complete control. But it quickly returned, and he focused once more on her face.  
The way he looked at her...the part of her that belonged to the time where she barely knew who she was longed to hear what he said. Something told her she'd only seen that look on one other face. She knew the words that had been spoken after she'd seen that hesitation mixed with unrequited desire. She knew what he wanted to say.   
She knew her reply.

"Revan, I lo-" But the door to their prison swung open, and she knew that one moment would be the last time they'd ever speak to each other like that again.

Alek, the boy she'd known as long as she'd known herself, was gone in that instant. The ensuing flashes of memories were of lightsabers clashing, blood, pain, and death.  
He never did finish that sentence.

Someone else did though. There was one person who said all the words. One person who showed her that even after her horrible failure with her best friend, she was capable of letting others in. One person who could bring her back from this hellish slumber.

Carth.


	2. The Road to Ruin

Carth Onasi gripped the hand of the one woman who might change the course of this war. Sure, the current Grand Master of the Jedi Order was doing very well, but that was considering that there was almost no Jedi Order to really lead. Back on Dromund Kaas, they hadn't really thought about the consequences of what they were doing. The only thing that had crossed their minds was that they had to kill the Emperor. Which Revan, Bastila, and Meetra had done.  
But now? Now Revan was in a coma and showing no signs of ever waking up, Bastila had gone missing along with Visas and Mical, and Meetra was doing her best to lead an army of scared and weathered soldiers who had next to no hope.

The only hope Carth had lay in front of him, her black hair splayed out around her head on the soft pillow, her expression troubled. If he could stop that, make her open her eyes, smile at him, do anything, he would. He would have given his own life for Revan, and yet she'd told him no. He would have had no chance against the Emperor, he knew that. If anything, he would have slowed them down.  
But he couldn't help feeling useless. If only he could have done something, he felt as though he could have prevented this predicament the galaxy found itself in.

As it was, this was probably the last time he'd ever see Revan. He was leaving later that day, going to join Meetra at the front. His hopes for surviving this war had died the moment he'd realized what the Republic was up against. At least she would stay here, on Coruscant, where she would be safe unless the Sith got too close, in which case, Dustil and Mission would take her and run. 

Pressing one last kiss to the cold hand in his grasp, he stood and slowly left the room. 

 

Outside, Meetra Surik, Grand Master of the Jedi Order, stood patiently. Her pale blond hair was pulled back into a simple braid. She knew exactly what was going on in Revan's head. Of course she did. Revan had been her best friend and mentor for a very long time. They shared a bond in the Force, stronger than the one that had previously existed between Revan and Bastila. Meetra loved Revan, but not in the way she loved Atton. They were just two people who happened to meet and happened to work together very well, like two wholes that somehow still worked out to do better together than alone.  
But Meetra had long accepted now that Revan was gone. She had done what she could to help the comatose woman, but there was a galaxy out there that needed them both. One would have to do.

Carth emerged from the quiet room and nodded to her. Together, they left the hospital. Atton greeted them outside, and Meetra took his hand, almost out of habit. Since the defeat of the Sith Emperor and Meetra's promise of them together, they had been practically inseparable. It was a good thing Atton was one of the best pilots in the fleet, or he might have been given another assignment.   
With Jedi Knight Atton Rand at the helm of Meetra's flagship, she knew at least her ship would stay sort of safe. It had been a major loss for the Republic when Bastila had gone missing, but that was a loss they had to deal with. Mira was working to learn battle meditation, so at least there was that.

As much as the three of them put on brave faces for the sake of their soldiers, they all knew how little of a chance they had. The sense of failure permeated every second they were together, such that Carth left almost as soon as they entered the bay, full of varied fighters surrounding the two fleets. Meetra paused for a moment to watch the admiral board his ship, then allowed Atton to lead her to theirs.

Atton quickly took his place in the very front of the ship, not far from Mira, the second in command.  
Meetra stood in the middle of the bridge and looked around, trying to memorize every face before her, wondering which of them would not make it out of the coming battle.  
"Admiral Onasi reports ready for go." A voice called out over the din of a fleet preparing for war.  
"Jedi Rand, take us up."  
The sound of priming hyperdrives had never seemed so grave before.


	3. A Broken Halo

A familiar voice broke through the haze in Revan's mind. "Good idea to move her to the Temple, Jolee."

The voice wasn't quite as she remembered it, and sadness accompanied that feeling. This was someone who'd changed since she had last seen them...someone who had once been young, and it was sad because Revan had not been there to see her grow up.

_Mission._

The name came to her in a moment, bringing with it so many thoughts and feelings and senses, the comatose woman was almost dragged back down into the mess of her mind. Remembering Mission Vao brought everything back. Not just everything about this girl Revan loved like a daughter, but every single thought and emotion she'd ever had. But that wasn't all. There were things, incorrect things, building up years and years of false memories. Those were what threatened to tear through her mind. The Jedi Council had never meant for Revan to return, and they had taken precautions to make sure she didn't. Then again, she had made it a habit to prove them wrong.

"Hey, is she smiling?" That was Dustil. It pleased her to no end to realize she had her real memories back.

"Hang on, kids." Mission's noises of protest were drowned by the sound of Jolee moving around, and then Revan felt something be injected into her arm.

It was like being electrocuted, but not in any way she'd ever experienced. All the nerves in her body jumped to life again, as though they'd been fried out by something and needed a restart. Ha, well... She could feel the thin gown someone had put her in, she could feel the chill of the smooth bed underneath her, but strangely, it was as though her Force powers were put behind a wall of glass. She could feel the current flowing through her, but she could do nothing with it. That realization was so frightening, her eyes flew open and she sat up. Her hand was raised as though to reach for what she'd lost.

"Whoa, calm down. You're safe, on Coruscant." Mission was the first one to react. Jolee and Dustil both looked like they were in shock. With a trembling hand, Revan seized the Twi'lek's arm and slowly turned into a sitting position with her legs dangling over the edge of the bed. Jolee finally snapped back to reality and grabbed her shoulder.

"Mission's right, you need to calm down. Don't go crazy on us now." Revan snorted and gave him a look of disdain in response. A small smile flitted across his face for a moment, but then it was replaced by his typical scowl. Turning back to the job at hand, she attempted to reach out to the Force to steady herself. Again, blocked. Frustrated, she slid to the ground and let go of Mission. Damn it all if she couldn't stand on her own. Since when had she relied so much on the Force and not her own physical ability to stand? The room was silent for a minute or so, but when Revan stayed on her own two feet, Mission pulled her into a hug.

"I missed you so much!"

"How long was I out?"

Dustil answered, "Few months, but I think she's talking about the four years you were a Sith prisoner."

"Sorry about that."

"What are you apologizing for, kid? You didn't decide to get caught by a bunch of Sith and locked up for a while, did you?"

"...No?"

"Then don't apologize!"

Revan smiled outright then. After all she'd been through and done, these people still stuck with her. Former Sith Lord, ex-runaway, comatose hero, they'd said whatever and helped her. But where was-

"Where's Carth?" Looking at each one of them in turn, she finally settled on Dustil. Normally, she could have just used the Force to search her pilot out, but as that wasn't working (it would come back soon. It had to) she'd just have to interrogate the people she had around her. Raising her eyebrows, she slowly crossed her arms and stared at him. A hesitant smile grew over his former look of surprise and he raised a hand to scratch the back of his head.

The young Jedi took his sweet time before answering, "Well, you know, we are at war with the Sith, and Meetra needed some help. He actually just left yesterday."  Of course. But how could Revan fault Carth for going to protect the Republic now when that's exactly what she'd done? Still, a feeling of sick anticipation settled in her stomach.

"I'm going to need some clothes."

"Since you've obviously decided to ignore bed rest, I'll go find you some," Jolee growled and stalked off.

 

 

Once Jolee had returned with some of her old robes, Revan found herself alone in the small medical area of the Jedi Temple.  She ran her hand over the soft cloth, but she was still trembling.  She wondered if that would go away, or if it would be something she'd have to learn to live with.  

She quickly changed, but the robes were too big.  They hung off of her in the odd way clothes do when one has lost too much weight.  

Suddenly, the gravity of everything she'd been through hit her square in the chest, and the former Dark Lord of the Sith fell to her knees, her hands flying up to wipe away the tears that began to fall.

It had been so long since she'd cried, since before she'd met Meetra.  She'd been ten years old, a belligerent, rebellious child full of spirit with a bright future ahead.  To look at her now was to see a woman so broken and battered all she had left was her belief in something only she could understand fully.  And now?  Now that was stripped from her, and she could not even touch the Force.

How many times had she been cut, bruised, electrocuted, drugged, tortured?  How many more times would Revan have to last through?  How many times until she couldn't drag herself to her feet again?

She found no comfort in staring at her trembling hands.  On Dromund Kaas, she had not had time to fully process her memories, but months of being locked in her own mind had shown everything those hands had done.  She could remember raising them for the first time in triumph at lifting her first rock through the Force, gripping her first lightsaber, holding Alek's hand as they ran from a kath hound, piloting a ship, picking up her iconic mask for the first time, stabbing Mandalore, ordering the return to Republic space, slicing off half of Malak's face, learning to use the Force again, killing the best friend she'd ever known, getting to know Carth in the only time of true peace she'd ever known, and finally, shoving the green blade of her lightsaber into the Emperor's chest.

If only that had killed him immediately, all this could have been prevented. 

Or could it have been?  Would her mind not have been so shattered?  Would the Jedi Council's trap inside her mind never have been triggered?  

A sob welled up inside her chest, and she let it loose, not caring anymore.  

Atris had once told her losing the Force was a fate worse than death, and Revan had laughed then.  Atris must have known something she did not, because now, feeling the flow and ebb, but being unable to touch it, was both maddening and agonizing.  

 

So how could she know it was Jolee who came back to check on her when all she could sense was nothingness?  How could she tell he was realizing how much she had lost?

"Child."  His voice was shaky.

"What?"  Her voice was broken.

"I'm sorry."

"You didn't do it."

A sad smile crossed the old man's face.  "This is different, and you know it."

"So much for destiny."

He paused for a moment before responding, "This isn't the first time you've lost something, and you got that back, so why not retake the Force?  Look at that Exile girl, she lost her connection for a while too."

"Jolee-"

"Don't tell me how different this is.  The Council obviously did whatever they thought was necessary to stop Darth Revan from returning, but they forgot that they were also stopping the return of Revan, the hero.  You've got both inside you, something those fools never bargained on.  You've got more power than anyone I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of people at my age.  It may be blocked, but how long can plasteel hold back a flood?"

There was no response from the broken woman kneeling on the floor.

"Look at me, Revan."

She did as she was ordered, an old habit developed as a child listening to too many masters.

"Defy the Council one last time.  I know you can."

She turned away.

"Dammit, if you're not going to fight for yourself, do it for Carth!"

Standing and spinning around, words flew from her like daggers, "Screw you for bringing him into this.  Screw the Jedi for doing this to me.  Screw the universe for whatever kriffing destiny it pinned on me!"  Fresh tears sprang from her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.  "I've given everything for this galaxy and its people, but those people keep throwing it back in my face!  Now I can't even use the Force, Jolee!  All I have left is the handful of beings who do actually care about me, and that's not much.  Excuse me for feeling sorry for myself!"

A brittle silence followed, in which Revan realized they weren't quite alone after all.  Mission and Dustil had seen her whole rant from just inside the doorway.  Feeling even worse, which shouldn't have been possible, she ran straight between them, not caring where she was going.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this just was totally not meant to happen I did not plan on this seriously Revan was supposed to stay Ms. Comatose (yes I love Supernatural) until like the last chapter and Canderous was supposed to come in this chapter and agh


	4. It's all Mando'ade to me

Mandalore was waiting for them in the little cantina Carth remembered very well.  Tatooine...this was where that scum had tried to flirt with Revan, back before either of them had known who she really was.  He almost longed for that time, but he felt better knowing about her past, and knowing that he still loved her.

 

"Onasi.  It's been a few years."  Canderous stood and clapped the admiral on his shoulder, then nodded politely at Meetra.  "Hear you've been promoted to Grand Master.  Maybe the Jedi will actually do something useful for once."

Meetra grinned widely and threw out the retort, "Only if the Mandalorians get off their asses first."  

This was all so natural to her.  Revan had long ago told her about her gift with other beings, but Meetra had not believed it until she actually managed to make friends with Atris.  Of course, Revan had only herself to blame for that.  After all, the older woman had been the one to convince Malak, no, _Alek_ to lock them in the archives together.

Remembering that day darkened Meetra's mood.  They'd all been so close, like family.  Revan was the leader, always intigating their adventures and even starting the Great Paintball War all the Jedi who had participated remembered fondly.  Well, those who had survived the Purge.

"Any news on Revan?" Mandalore's voice snapped her back to the present.

"She was still in a coma when we left.  I doubt she's ever going to wake up again."  She shook her head.  "When the Council tried to get rid of who she was, they were thorough."

Carth's jaw clenched beside her, and for a moment, Meetra was glad he hadn't been there to find the masters with her.  If he had, then maybe Traya would have been spared the effort.

Mandalore grunted.  "Too bad.  She was the best warrior this galaxy has ever known."  The words were simple, but there was emotion running deep under them.  Carth had said they were close friends, but Meetra had not known how close.  She felt a twinge of sadness when she realized that Canderous Ordo had probably replaced Malak as Revan's best friend.

 

"But we have to keep going.  We've got a war to win, and so far, you Republic types haven't been doing well at all."

"Thanks for the reminder, Canderous."

"Anytime you need one, Carth."

So, the boys could be civil enough to call each other by their first names.  Thank the Force.

"Mandalore is right.  Tatooine is one of the last Outer Rim planets not controlled by the Sith, and that's only because they skipped over it to start conquering the Mid Rim."  Meetra's voice was grim, her expression matching.  "If we don't hold now, they'll cut right through us and take Coruscant."

"Then we know we've lost."  Carth's voice was bitter.

"What're you talking about, Onasi?  Where's all the optimism I remember from the Ebon Hawk?"

Carth scowled at the other man.

" _Enough_.  You two are getting nowhere.  Carth, Coruscant might be the end of the Republic, but not the end of my fighting to save its people.  Revan would do the same."

Canderous grunted in agreement.

"How many warriors can you rally?"  Meetra turned to Mandalore.

He shrugged.  "If I call, the clans must answer.  You can count on most of our warriors joining the battle."

"Good."  She paused, unsure of what to do then.  Atton had told her she was a born leader, but strategizing was not easy for her.  That was a game of dejarik, not pazaak.  

"We can pull your people back to the Core and Inner Rim to make sure we keep those vital worlds.  Our fleets will patrol the hyperspace lanes, but if we're ever going to defeat the Sith, we have to take the battle to them."  Thank the Force for Carth Onasi.

 

Suddenly, Meetra's communicator beeped.

"Surik here."

"Hey Mee, how's the meeting?"  Atton's voice crackled through.

"Atton, you shouldn't be interupting."

"I've got some news you might like though."

"What is it?"  She frowned.  The only news she'd like is that the Sith had accidentally blown up their own ships.

"Revan woke up a couple hours ago."

" _What_?"

"Yeah, Jolee commed.  They'd moved her to the Temple, and that must have done something.  There is some bad news too though."

"Yeah?"  How could any news be bad after hearing Revan was back among the living?

"She's kinda pissy, apparently.  The Council cut her off from the Force and now she's huddling in a corner of the Room of a Thousand Fountains or something.  You could probably give her a few hints on how to move on, right?"

Meetra didn't respond.  Revan losing the Force was the worst possible news to accompany the fact that the older woman had woken up.  It had taken years for Meetra to be able to use her Jedi training again, and even then, that was different.  She'd done that to herself.  If Revan's powers had been stripped in a similar way to Nomi Sunrider taking Ulic Qel-Droma's powers, then there was no return from that.  Revan would be a shell of herself, nothing compared to the warrior and woman she'd once been.  For someone who had known a power beyond that of any other being in the galaxy, losing that power might destroy her.

Meetra could only pray Revan had enough strength to bounce back and at least join the battle as a strategic advisor.

"Mee?"  Atton was growing worried about her, she could tell.

"Please keep me updated.  Thanks Atton."

"No problem."

 

"What did the kid want?"  Carth frowned at Meetra's communicator on the table.

"Revan woke up."

And that was all she had to say before both men were on their feet, expressions of shock and joy filling their faces.

" _But_ she can no longer use the Force, and Atton said she isn't taking it well."

Carth's expression grew determined.  "I should be there with her."

"No.  She wouldn't want that.  We need you out here, or this war is as good as lost."

"She's right."  Mandalore didn't look happy to admit it.

"Thank you."  Meetra folded her hands in her lap.  "We've got a war to win, and right now, we're down a few vital systems.  Are you with me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can credit the nickname Mee to padyluppet entirely and it's perfect


	5. The Mighty Fall

Mission found Revan sitting by one of the pools in the Room of a Thousand Fountains and paused to study her.  The Twi'lek's 19th birthday had come and gone while her mother figure had been in a coma.  Her import-export business was one of the top fifty on Coruscant, and had horizons to be in the top ten within a decade.  

But that really didn't matter.  She'd figured out a long time ago that age was just a number, and credits just a means to an end.  What counted was what you did with what you had, and so far Mission was pretty proud of what she'd been able to help accomplish.  In their quest to stop Malak, she had fought for a Republic she'd never cared about before meeting Allya Vey, a former smuggler with seemingly random Force powers.  The two had grown close in their travels, even when Allya was actually Revan.  It had been a slow process for the woman to let go of the name she'd come to resent, but Mission would always hold that name close.  If she and Dustil ever considered children...well, she didn't plan on letting go of her past.  Revan hadn't.

Now Mission was faced with this woman with two lives in her head and a part of her lost, maybe forever.  If only Bastila were there, or Juhani still alive.  That had been a loss to everyone on the old team, and it still hurt.  Now Bastila and the new Jedi Visas and Mical were probably dead too.  

 

The teenager closed the distance between herself and Revan's pool and sat down next to the woman.

"I didn't sense you coming."  Her tone was detatched, matching the look on her face.

"I never sense anyone coming," Mission pointed out.

A sigh told the Twi'lek that had been a bad idea to say.

 

The two sat in silence for some time, before Revan finally spoke.

 

"Where's Zaalbar?"

"Big Z went back to Kashyyyk only a little bit before Juhani was killed.  His father had gotten badly hurt on a hunt, so he had to go home to get ready to be leader of his people."  Mission shrugged.  "Then so much was happening, I didn't hear anything from him until after Meetra beat Darth Traya."

"And HK?"

"We put him on ice for a while.  Figured it would be better than letting him kill everyone who even looked at your door."

Then the girl hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Is it true, Revan?  Was Darth Traya really your master?"

A tiny hint of a smile grew over the woman's face.  "When I was very young, yes.  Then she was Arren Kae, and she was like a mother to me.  A really harsh, unforgiving mother, but all the same, I looked up to her." The smile became a reality, but then vanished and Revan's voice softened. "I never thought she'd ever look up to anything I'd do."

Mission didn't know how to respond to that, so she decided to change the subject.

"I found Griff again."

"How many credits did he want this time?"

"Two hundred, but I told him no and hired him instead.  He's monitored by my other employees, so I'm not too worried about him trying anything."

"That's good."  Again, a voice so lacking in emotion it scared Mission.

 

"What's wrong with you?" The girl's voice was a tiny whisper, and yet Revan heard it.  

"What isn't wrong with me?"

Mission turned to face Revan, anger welling up inside her as she grabbed the woman's arms.

"You listen to me, you've gotta fight this!  I don't care if you've got two lives in your head, pick one and stick with it!  Be Allya or be Revan!  Either one would be better than whatever you are now!"

 

It was only as Mission was walking away that the broken woman sitting by a stagnant pool responded with a mutter the departing girl barely heard.

"Allya was a beautiful lie, one that molded who I am now."

"And who might that be?"

 _If Mission had not been good at lip reading, she would not have caught what the Jedi said next.  A flash of life came back into those green eyes, accompanied by the words "I am Revan reborn_."


	6. Failure

Meetra stood at the helm of her ship, by Atton's shoulder.  

The tension in the _Harmony_  was so thick, it felt like she could cut it with a vibroblade.  Mira was testing out her battle meditation for the first time, and Meetra couldn't help but doubt her.  Battle meditation was a rare gift, one Mira had not shown much of an ability for in the time the two had spent working on it together.

But with Bastila gone, they had no choice anymore.  They simply did not have the strength to withstand an attack without anyone using battle meditation.

Their options were running thin, even with the addition of the Mandalorian ground warriors.

 

She was forced to come back to the present when Atton reached out to her in the Force.

"We'll be leaving hyperspace in a minute, General Surik."

The Grand Master winced at the formality coming from one of the numerous deck hands.  She wasn't Malak or Revan.  Being called 'General' gave her no pleasure, it reminded her too much of another war so long ago.

"Raise shields, prepare cannons."

"Prepare to follow Admiral Onasi's fleet into position.  This is a battle we can win."  The confidence in her voice was false, but only Atton would ever be able to tell.

 

As Fondor came into existence in front of her, Meetra's heart sank.  She'd been hoping for a small attack force, sent mostly for scouting.  No, this was a fleet, albeit an oddly small one, and it was surrounding one of the rather important planets in the Inner Core.  Obviously the Republic spies were missing some important information.  That would have to be looked into.  

"Move to attack position."

Atton nodded slightly and began to maneuver the hulking capitol ship.  He'd become awful quiet as of late, his only coming on a very rare occasion.  Of course, hers had faded completely.  Only Atton Rand could keep up any sense of humor at all anymore.

"Open fire!"

She leaned forwards and gripped the back of her boyfriend's chair for support.  Blasts rocked her flagship and surely the other ones in her fleet as the Sith responded in kind.  Glancing at one of the screens about a meter away, she saw Carth's fleet moving around to flank the Imperials, which would have been a good plan if the enemy had not noticed the maneuver.  

Meetra half ran to the coms post and slammed her hand into the button.

"Admiral Onasi, stop your maneuver right now.  The Sith can see what you're doing, and they're going to use our division to destroy both fleets!"  All of Revan's lessons on strategy were slowly coming back to Meetra, and she intended to use them until Revan herself was able to stand on the bridge of a ship.

" _Copy, we'll retreat some to get back to you_."

 

"General!"  The coms officer called out as Meetra was walking to one of the view screens..

"Report?"

"The Imperial flagship is trying to open communications with us."

"Patch it through to the front."  Her face grim, she stood up straighter and clasped her hands behind her back.  Time to face the Sith.

 

A blueish holo image of a Sith Lord she knew all too well flickered into existence before her.

"Grand Master Surik."  Scourge nodded.

"Lord Scourge."  Meetra nodded back, Jedi training forcing her to be polite to her enemy.  Revan would have smirked and made an obscene hand gesture, but there was a reason why the Mandalorian Wars had been so bloody.

"It's Darth now.  In the vacuum of power left after the...unfortunate destruction of the Emperor, I found it only natural to step up and claim my rightful place."  He was choosing his words carefully.  It must have been covered up that he helped Meetra, Revan, and Bastila kill the Emperor.

"Congratulations, but I sense discussing titles is not why you wanted to talk."

"Of course not.  I wish to offer a chance for you to surrender."

Her eyebrows shot up.  "Why would I wish to surrender?"

A predatory smile spread over his red face, making his face tentacles swing in an odd way.

"Because your capitol is about to fall."

"How can you claim that?"

"You think this is a full fleet?  You think this is the only fleet we have?  I know your forces are spread thin, and your defenses of Coruscant are minimal.  I have two fleets en route to take that planet, and there is nothing you can do to stop it."

 

Meetra cut off the transmission, panic filling her chest as the Sith fleet jumped to hyperspace, abandoning the battle.  

"Contact Coruscant now, and someone tell Admiral Onasi!"

There was a rushing sound in her ears as she reached out, trying to find Revan through the Force in a desperate attempt to warn the older woman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay I suck at naming ships but I feel like Meetra would be too she'd just want something nice and vaguely peaceful


	7. Old Habits

Worlds away, Revan woke up from a fitful sleep, a sense of alarm and dread filling her. She quickly slipped into some robes and boots, half wondering if she should even be wearing the clothes of a Jedi when she could not even use the Force. Quickly, she crushed that thought. Mission believed she'd get it back, and so she would. She had to.

Almost as an after thought, she hooked her black lightsaber hilt to her belt, then a moment later grabbed the two she'd used during the quest to destroy the Star Forge and tucked them into her robe. Something was coming, and she needed to be ready.

 

It was the middle of the night, but Coruscant never slept.  Still, Revan stayed silent as she moved through the halls of the Temple.  She wasn't the only one awake, after all, there were all sorts of beings living there, but so many Jedi had died she encountered no one on her way to the coms room.

She entered in a command, and soon she was facing the Bothan in charge of local defense.

"Jedi Revan, it is good to see you awake.  What can I help you with?"  The admiral she really couldn't remember the name of looked tired, but Revan really didn't care.  The sense of dread was growing.

"Admiral, you need to get Coruscant's defenses ready.  I believe we're about to go under attack."

"What would make you think that?"

"Would you trust me if I said the Force?"

What a question that was.  Trust Revan's word, when she had still fairly recently saved the Republic and then conquered half of it.

But before the Bothan could answer, he was interrupted by an aid with a datapad.  When he read the contents, his eyes widened under all the fur.

"It appears you are correct.  We have just received a transmission from Grand Master Surik."  He was growing agitated.  "There are at least two Imperial fleets approaching Coruscant."

"Start the evacuation, get your men on getting as many civilians off world as possible."  The orders flowed from her, a million ideas forming all at once.  "Pull whatever ships you have back, only engage to protect civilians."

The furry admiral was giving her a funny look, even for a Bothan.

" _Now_ , Admiral."

"Of course."  He disappeared for a few moments, but then sat down in front of the holoscreen again.

"Will you and the Jedi be available to help us?"

"I can get the Padawans and maybe a handful of Knights helping you, and I trust they'll be safe on civilian and Republic transports to leave.  The rest of us will stay."  An idea occurred to her then, and she frowned.  "Those who you can't evacuate, send to the Undercity.  They'll be safer there than on the surface.  I'll take the remaining Jedi there to help organize some system down there."

"Excellent idea, General."  The Bothan nodded.

A grin tugged at the side of her lips, and she ended the transmission.

 

Normally, she could have woken everybody up through the Force, but as that option had been taken from her, she ended up slicing one of the hallway com panels to give her access to all coms in the Temple.

"Wake up, everybody.  This is Jedi Knight Revan.  Coruscant is about to go under Sith attack, and evacuation orders have been given.  All Padawans and Consular Knights will report to Republic command to aid the evacuation.  All Masters, Guardians, and Sentinels will report to me in the antechamber as soon as possible."

She almost started to walk away, but then pressed the transmission button again.  

"Make sure you're dressed in robes at least, some kind of armor preferable."

 

Revan surveyed the assembled Jedi and wished there were more.  A hundred to two hundred stood before her, and about three hundred had gone to help the Republic.  There was a time when a couple thousand Padawans had wandered these halls, and it was all her fault they were dead.

Jolee ambled over to her with Dustil and Mission on his heels.

She gave Carth's son a disapproving look.  "Dustil, you should be-"

"I'm a Jedi Guardian now, promise."  He held up his hands in defense.

"Well you should get Mission off world at-"

This time it was the Twi'lek's turn to cut her off.

"I ain't no Jedi you can just order around.  I'm staying."

Revan sighed.

"Ah, let it go.  They can help."  Jolee waved a hand dismissively.

"Fine.  Just go sit down somewhere."  She was a little surprised they actually listened to her.

 

A moment later, everyone in the antechamber was silent, and all were staring at her.  In times when she had spoken to large numbers of beings, she had used the Force to bolster her voice, but now she was forced to speak as loudly as possible and hope everyone could hear her.

"I spoke with one of the Republic admirals about half an hour ago, and he received a transmission from the Grand Master.  She says there are at least two Sith fleets on their way, and her fleets have no way of reaching us on time to defend Coruscant."

Taking a deep breath, she continued, "The evacuation order was issued almost immediately, so as many beings as possible will be gone by the time the Imperials reach us.  For those who choose to remain or are unable to leave, I have suggested they go to the Undercity.  That way any surface attacks will not reach them and we all know how well a stranger to this planet is able to navigate the lower levels.  They'll be safer there."

Not safe.  Just safer.

"Everyone in this room is going to protect the people of Coruscant as best we can.  Disperse yourselves as widely as possible over the surface of the planet.  When most of the Republic citizens are in the Undercity and settled as much as possible, move to the tunnels under the Temple.  We'll set up some sort of resistance there."

She paused, watching the reactions of the Jedi, wondering what they were feeling.  It was odd not to know intuitively.

"May the Force be with you."


	8. When Destiny Calls, The Chosen Have No Choice

"Revan!"  A voice the former Sith Lord recognized all to well came from somewhere in the mass of Jedi trying to pack up and head to their respective posts.

"Atris," Revan's response was cool, but she was actually kind of upset to find out the archivist survived the Purge.  She was, however, surprised when she turned around and saw not only one white haired woman approaching, but two.

"Who's this?"  She raised her eyebrows at the newcomer.

"This is Brianna.  She is the head of the Jedi Archives."  

The other woman, who looked incredibly familiar to Revan, nodded as a greeting.

"What happened to you being head archivist?"

Atris looked abashed, something Revan had never thought possible before.

"I fell.  I made mistakes, mistakes you must have seen the last time we spoke."

"Huh?"

"You mentioned my anger to me then, and I refused to listen.  My inattention led to more pain to the galaxy, but the Grand Master chose not to exile me as I did her.  I am a Jedi, but of no specific rank, and my duty is only to aid Brianna in the archives."

The humility in her words...it shocked Revan.  Meetra had changed the mind of Atris?  That was amazing indeed, and only proved Revan's ideas of Meetra's gift with other beings.  

"I'm impressed, Atris."

A brief smile flitted across the other woman's face, and Revan added that to her list of wonders she was seeing since she woke up.  She still did not like Atris, not at all, but she was prepared to not hate her so much any more.

"There is something Master Surik asked me to tell you."

"Yes?"

"She gave orders that, if you were to awaken, you should receive the rank of Jedi Master and have a chair on the Council."

That jarred Revan.  When she had been younger, she expected that honor before the age of thirty.  Though now at forty, she was sure she was not right for that role.  Not only had she lost the Force, she had been Sith and Dark Jedi and everything in between.  

But if Meetra wanted Revan on the Council, how could she refuse?

"Alright."  There was a long pause, and then the new Jedi Master asked, "Brianna, who were your parents?"

Brianna looked startled, but then she composed herself.  "You knew both of them, Revan.  My mother was Arren Kae, but I never knew her.  My father was Yusanis, the Echani General you killed."

Ah.  So that was where the sense of familiarity came from.  And now Revan was stuck in the awkward position of feeling guilty for Arren Kae's transformation into Kreia and her own murder of Yusanis.  She had her reasons for killing the general, namely keeping the Republic together, but how could she ever explain that to his daughter?

"I am not one much for Mandalorian, but I believe their saying 'cin vhetin' would fit nicely here," Atris cut in.

Revan gave her a strange look.  "Who are you and what have you done with Atris?"

Brianna looked confused, but Meetra's friend only shrugged.

"Much has happened, Revan.  I sense I am not the only one who has changed..."

 

If Revan could have felt anything beyond the most basic current of the Force, she would have felt Atris' mental probing.

But she could not, and so Atris, the last of the original Jedi Council that had made the choice of what to do with a damaged Sith Lord, learned that her plan had worked.  This did not bring her the vindication she had felt when the Council had performed the ritual to make sure Darth Revan never returned.

"I am sorry," Atris whispered.  "If I could ever be of any assistance to you, please ask."

Revan stopped and studied the white-haired woman, but Brianna was clearly lost.

"Atris, what have you done?"

"I do not think we can win this war without what you have lost."  Atris ignored the new archive head, much to said archivist's annoyance.

" _Atris_ , I asked you a question."

"It was not me alone, Brianna.  The Council, fools that we were, feared Revan greatly."  The white haired woman turned to Revan then.  "I still believe we were right to fear you, but not to take the precautions we did.  But how could we have forseen what you are now?"

"What am I now?"  Revan was beginning to wonder if Meetra had been drugging Atris, for the change in everything she saw was totally different.  The young woman who had been so full of resentment for the trio made of Meetra Surik, Alek Squinquargesimus, and Revan herself had changed drastically, and there was no doubt who was to thank.

"Our hero, savior, and one of the greatest the Jedi Order has ever produced."  She sounded so sure in her words, and yet it was the memory of another member of her childhood that gave the former Sith Lord some amount of fear for her future.

 

_Savior, conqueror, hero, villain.  You are all of these things Revan...and yet you are nothing. In the end, you belong to neither the light nor the darkness. You will forever stand alone._

 

"Master Revan?"  The younger archivist seemed confused by her mentor's greatest friend's sudden look of confusion.

"It's nothing.  Now we have a war to fight, and I believe it is your duty to preserve our histories.  The Sith are coming, there is no doubt they will do whatever they can to destroy the past.  Bring what you can, use the heaviest encryptions on the rest."  The slide back into General Revan came effortlessly to her, and it almost scared her.  General Revan had done horrific things, even as a Jedi, and ended up destroying half the Republic.  

Brianna nodded and motioned for Atris to follow as the new recruit went to do her duty.

 

Many doubts still circulating in her head, Revan turned on her heel and made her way back to her quarters.  As she entered the relatively sparse rooms, her fingers lingered on the door frame, too many memories flooding her mind.  Yes, she was once again fully Revan, with every memory she had lost and more, but she had not yet completely gone through them all.  

Now she saw herself as a young Padawan, arriving on Coruscant to be handed over to Master Vrook for training as Arren Kae went in search of answers to an unknown question.  That Padawan had been the cause of a paintball war that had filled the halls of the Temple and ended her apprenticeship to Vrook only two months after it had begun.  That Padawan had run through all the great rooms and every small nook and cranny of the training center with Alek and Meetra on her tail.  That Padawan had been sent away to undergo the Trials, and passed them with flying colors.  

But then that Knight had seen injustice in the galaxy, and sought to end it.  That Knight had effectively abandoned the Jedi Order and taken others with her.  That Knight had failed her followers and allowed them to be taken by the terrible Mandalorian scientist, Demagol.  That Knight had fallen too far through too many battles, and taken her best friend with her.  

What would this Master do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so the chapter title is from The Clone Wars, Season 4 Episode 1


	9. Darkness on Coruscant

Meetra Surik, Carth Onasi, and Canderous Ordo stood around a command console in a newly established camp on Fondor.  They were watching a series of holos, each showing different scenes of Coruscant.

Every single bluish image was disheartening.  The planet’s defenses were falling so fast to the Sith invaders. Sometimes one of the holos would flicker out of existence, proof of the mass destruction they were watching.

If Meetra had been any weaker than she was, she would have given in to her growing feeling of despair.  As it was, she had no idea how they could ever come back from this.  The Sith were going to win.

Three familiar presences entered the room, and Meetra turned to face Atton, Mira, and Bao-Dur.  Atton was gripping a datapad with a hard sort of smile on his face, an expression shared by Mira. Bao-Dur, as usual, looked somewhat mournful.  The Zabrak was a Jedi Sentinel, but his skill and his heart would always remain in engineering.

“What’s that?”  The Grand Master gestured at the datapad.

“A report from Coruscant.  It was sent right before the first Interdictor dropped out of hyperspace.” Bao-Dur somehow managed to have a calm voice, like the Republic wasn’t crumbling before their eyes.

Atton passed Meetra the datapad, and she began to read aloud.

“ _At approximately 1:00 AM Coruscant Standard Time, Jedi Master Revan contacted Admiral Bwa’tu of the Coruscant Defense Force.  She claimed the Sith Empire was about to attack, and that she knew because of the Force. Less than a minute later, Grand Master Meetra Surik’s warning of incoming Imperial fleets was received. General Revan gave orders for immediate evacuation or transference to the Undercity.  All Jedi Padawans and Consular Knights aided in the evacuation and found transportation off world.  The rest of the Jedi stayed on Coruscant with the plan to protect Republic citizens still there.”_

“Good to have Revan back,” Canderous grunted with a small grin.

“I thought you said Revan was cut off from the Force?”  Carth looked troubled, and Meetra understood. She shook her head and shrugged.

“As far as I know, there are two options for what happened to her. She was either completely stripped of all connection to the Force, or the Council only managed to put up some kind of block.  If the latter is the case, then I assume she can still feel the Force to some extent. She just can’t use it in any way.” Meetra considered her own words for a few moments before continuing, “If my warning got through to her, then I assume she’s only blocked.  If that’s all it is, then I feel pretty confident in her ability to regain full control.”

“Best news I’ve heard all day.”  Mira smiled widely, surprising her mentor.  The former bounty hunter hadn’t smiled in a long time.  It was a very welcome sight.

 

Atton was studying Carth, trying to gauge his reaction.  The two of them had formed a sort of mentor and student relationship, and of all the people on Fondor, Atton would be able to comfort the admiral. He read the pain on the older man’s face and considered what he would be feeling if he were in that position. He tried to picture himself a big shot in the Republic military and Meetra as a comatose scary former Sith Lord he’d had to leave behind.  The image his mind produced was pretty comical; there was no way he could imagine Meetra ever using the dark side.  Still, he did empathize with Carth more.  Atton would hate to have gone through everything he and Revan had.

           

There was a sudden knock on the door, jolting Meetra out of her thoughts. She watched as Mandalore tromped over and let whoever it was inside. 

Never before had the Grand Master seen such a beaten up looking Mandalorian. Most of them had at least somewhat damaged armor, but this was a new extreme.  There were so many scratches and dents, she could hardly see the colors the armor must have once been.

“Everyone, this is Rohlan Dyre.  You might have heard him called Rohlan the Questioner.”  Mandalore clapped the new arrival on the shoulder and resumed his pervious place around the tactical table.

Meetra stepped up.  “Hello, I’m Meetra Surik, Grand Master of the Jedi Order.  These are my Jedi Knights, Atton Rand, Mira, and Bao-Dur.”

Dyre simply nodded to them.

“I’m Carth Onasi.  I’ve heard a lot about you.” The admiral nodded back at the armored figure.

“You have?”  There was a small edge of surprise in his voice.

“I'm Zayne Carrick’s an old friend.  We haven’t spoken for a while, but he used to send me messages about the con of the week.” 

Meetra smiled.  She had never known very much about Carth’s past beyond what the HoloNet told her, and it seemed he was actually a much more outgoing person than the half beaten man she had come to expect every time they met.

Mandalore cleared his throat, and everyone turned to him.

“I asked Rohlan here for a reason.  He actually discovered the Sith while Revan was still on Dromund Kaas. Of course, he had no idea she was there. His whole reason for poking around was the same as hers.”

Dyre nodded and took up the story, “I wanted to find the reason for the war. As soon as I dug through a few archives and followed a few of Revan’s trails, I found the Sith Empire. By the time I got back to warn Mandalore, we were already preparing to go fight them.”

“So you know as much as we do about the Sith.  Great.”  Mira rolled her eyes.

“I’m sending him to Coruscant.” 

“ _What_?”  Atton and Carth reacted in unison, causing the younger pilot to give Carth a funny look.

“He’s the best we have at sneaking behind Sith lines, and he does have quite a lot of information about the Imps.”

“I’ve set up a databank of all I know for you, Grand Master.” Dyre gestured in Meetra’s direction. “Those on Coruscant will need all the information they can get.  Besides, I have some old friends still there.”

 

Everyone turned to Meetra, which made her uncomfortable.  That is, until Atton reached out to her with his Force presence filled with assurance.  He believed in her.

“It sounds like a good plan to me.  We aren’t risking any resources, and it could help everyone staying on Coruscant. Our focus should be on reclaiming our capital as soon as possible.”

There were several nods of agreement and even a few grunts, mostly from the Mandalorians in the room.

As Meetra turned back to the holos, she couldn’t help but feel like one Mandalorian, no matter how much he knew, would not be enough to help Revan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this'll be my Nano work so we'll so how far it gets!


	10. Knights of Suffering

Zayne Carrick cursed as he slammed his head, yet again, on the ceiling of the dark, dank tunnel he was leading his friends through.  He was followed by Gryph, Jarael, and Slyssk.  They had decided to stay on Coruscant, despite the order of evacuation, and were heading towards the Jedi Temple through some of the tunnels snaking underneath the surface of the main city, but above most of the Undercity.  Gryph had been the one to suggest going that way, since he had also been the one to hack into the Temple's vid feeds to see what the Jedi were planning.

They had all agreed to go undercover for a while, once the Jedi started disappearing during the Purge.  By the time the Jedi Exile returned and saved the galaxy, Zayne was trying to convince himself and his friends to go after whatever had killed all the others.  Luckily, they didn't have to go after any huge, scary Sith Lords.  Not like any of them were particularly incapable of fighting Sith Lords, they just really preferred not to.

"Zayne?"

"Yeah Jarael?" His voice came out in a pained grunt.  That was the third time in about ten minutes he'd hit his head.

"Are we almost there?"  There was an undertone of laughter to her words.

"I think so.  Gryph, what do you think?"

"Just because I look like a rodent doesn't mean I'm good in tunnels!" Was the outraged answer.

Zayne grinned and shook his head.  

"Anyway, it should be the next junction.  We'll have to climb down, since we really don't want to go into the Temple right now.  It's crawling in Sith."

"Whatever you say."  Jarael was the only one who had trusted him to lead them through the tunnels.  Gryph had wanted to risk going above ground, in his typical 'hide in plain sight' style, but this time Zayne put his foot down.  He knew the Sith would be hard to hide from, especially in plain sight.  He just didn't have the skills to conceal his own powers.

 

It took almost another forty minutes before all four of them had managed to descend into the Undercity from their tunnel.  At that point, all of them had full body cramps, even Slyssk, who had an evolutionary advantage.

"Ugh, next time you want to crawl through Coruscant, count me out."  Gryph shoved past Zayne and Jarael, who smiled at her boyfriend.

"Now where to?"  Slyssk was looking around, as covertly as he possibly could, which made absolutely no sense.

"Well, it should be just a short walk before we get to-"

He was cut off by a lightsaber suddenly being ignited right in front of his throat.  The blade was a rich violet, so he really hoped it was just a Jedi patrol.

Meanwhile, Gryph was being hauled back by a masked and cloaked figure, though not a particularly intimidating one.  A few more of the hooded beings were surrounding them.

" _Zayne Carrick_?"  The purple lightsaber was lowered immediately, and he put on his best grin. 

"At your service."  He tried to edge away from whoever it was, but stopped when he saw the mask this one was wearing.  "You're-you're-"

"I'm Revan."  

Jarael let out a gasp, Slyssk looked like he was going to pee himself, and Gryph shrugged.

"So...which side are you on?"  Zayne tried to ask it as casually as possible, but this was _Revan_.  He knew Carth Onasi and the Jedi Exile had recovered her from the Sith capital, where they had killed the Emperor, but other than that so little was known about what this woman had become.

"I'm a Jedi again, don't worry."  There was a smile in her voice.  "Now come on, I can put you to work."

 

Revan led the way, still wearing her iconic mask.  She seemed like an enigma to Zayne, who was sticking close to Jarael.  Gryph was off trying to chat with some of the Jedi to get some news, as they'd been out of the loop for a couple days now.  Slyssk was trailing behind the Snivvian, looking lost.  

Zayne felt pretty bad for Slyssk, actually.  After the Mandalorian Wars, the Trandoshan had been so happy to sit back and relax.  Of course, that hadn't even almost happened yet.  His nerves were fraying, and his friends were worried he'd crack soon.  But he was stronger than they thought.  Let him worry, let him be confused and scared, and he'd be alright.

"You're afraid of her."  Jarael's statement caught Zayne off guard, and it took him a moment to answer.

"So are you."

"I've never met her before."

"Neither have I."

"Really?"  Now she was the surprised one.  "I thought-well, Malak mentioned..."

"Back when he was Alek, he said I should meet his 'master'.  I guess he meant Revan, but it just never happened."  He shrugged.

 

As Zayne finished, the Jedi who had grabbed Gryph earlier came over and removed his mask.  The newcomer was a young man, and looked strangely familiar.

"Do I know you?"

The kid (he couldn't have been much older than twenty) shook his head.  "Sorry, no.  I'm Dustil Onasi.  You know my dad?"

Onasi... "Oh yeah, Carth.  He's a good guy.  Isn't he some bigshot now?"  Zayne grinned.  He'd always liked the pilot.

Dustil nodded.  "He's an admiral, off with the fleets, hopefully planning to rescue us.  Or at least he's planning to rescue her."  He gestured towards Revan.

"They know each other?"  Jarael looked confused.

A wide grin spread over the young Jedi's face.  "Oh yeah, they know each other.  They know each other really well."

"Okay...?"  Zayne gave him a funny look.

 

"Carth and I are together."  Revan took them all by surprise, making Dustil actually jump.  She had a small smirk on her now unmasked face, like she enjoyed frightening people.  Which she probably actually did.

"Sorry."  She apologized, sounding completely insincere.  "We're through there."  

A smallish looking, rusty metal door was all that lay ahead, so Zayne and Jarael just had to take her word for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Totally took the title from some of the old KOTOR comics.


	11. Daze of Anger

What Zayne had been expecting, he wasn't entirely sure.  Whatever it was, it couldn't have possibly come close to this.  The small group had gone through several of the darker alleys of the Undercity, and were now emerging in a huge area.

There were several tunnels, similar to the ones Zayne and his friends had been crawling through, visible around the complex.  Everything else seemed to be made of metal, though some parts were rusty or disgusting looking.  At these spots, several droids and a couple Jedi were scrubbing away, presumably trying to make the place livable.  There were hallways jutting off into other directions and many rooms already connected to the cavern.  Everywhere you looked, a Jedi, soldier, or droid was bustling around.  

It looked like there was a whole city here, by the Undercity but not at all a part of it.  Revan could set up a seriously impressive resistance movement.

"This is amazing," Jarael breathed, staring at the high ceiling.

"Thanks.  We weren't sure what we'd find down here, and it was pretty messy at first.  I set some of the younger ones on it, and they've done a wonderful job."  The former Dark Lord was wearing her mask again, which unsettled Zayne.  He couldn't place why, but the piece of metal had a mysterious feeling.  

"Anyway," she continued, "You two, Snivvian and Trandoshan-"

"Marn Hierogryph, and this is my associate, Slyssk."  Gryph topped it off with a small bow, causing Jarael to roll her eyes.

 "What can you do?"  

"I can cook!"  Slyssk piped up, finally looking happy at the prospect of a job he was both good at and enjoyed.

"Excellent.  You'd be surprised how poor of cooks Jedi make."  Revan motioned an old looking man over.  "Jolee, this is Slyssk.  Slyssk, this is Jedi Master Jolee.  He can show you where we've set up a galley."

The old man grunted and gave her a funny look.  "Someone calls you General a few times and you decide to start ordering everyone around."

" _Please_."

"Fine.  Right this way."  Jolee pointed towards one of the hallways, but as he left, Zayne heard some mumbling about 'young Jedi these days'.

"And you, Gryph?"

"My day job is a manager of a restaurant, but I'm quite the mastermind."  The Snivvian pushed out his chest.

Revan turned to Zayne.

"He's good at planning espionage and embezzlement, if that helps at all."

Apparently it did, as the Jedi Master nodded.

"Gryph, go with Dustil to find the Republic brass.  They need help planning some smaller skirmishes."  

Finally, she turned to Zayne and Jarael, but before she could say anything, an astromech sped by, whirring and beeping.  It was followed closely by an older looking HK unit.

"Delighted statement: Master!  I am very pleased to see you again.  Your Republic meatbag would not tell me where you had gone, so I was almost forced to resort to torture.  However, I knew you would not be happy about any physical damage I did to him."

"HK-47, meet Zayne, another Jedi, and Jarael."  If Zayne hadn't known better, he would have sworn Revan was blushing underneath her mask.

"Query: Shall I blast them for you?"  The scary droid leveled its blaster rifle, but the weapon was quickly pushed back down by Revan.

"No, they're allies.  Why don't you go guard my quarters in case anyone, ah, tries to steal my extra lightsaber.  T3 will show you where they are."

 

Once the two droids were gone again, Revan turned back to Zayne and Jarael and removed her mask.  She looked remarkably tired, as though she wasn't using the Force to get energy.  Maybe she was just trying to save up?

"Sorry about that.  Come with me, now please.  I have a mission I need two more for, and it might just save the planet."

 

\---

 

Zayne and Jarael found themselves sitting in mismatched chairs around an ancient-looking table.  Across from them were Revan, the old man from earlier, a young Twi'lek, and HK-47.  The droid wasn't sitting though, it was standing behind Revan like a very menacing shadow.  Not like anyone would try to attack her anyway.  She was terrifying enough on her own.

The former Sith Lord in question now leaned forwards and laced her fingers together.  "From the information we've gathered so far, Darth Scourge is the Imperial in charge of Coruscant right now."  She said the name 'Scourge' like it left a nasty taste in her mouth, so Zayne gathered they must have met before.

"Now, we have some intelligence on where he'll be tomorrow afternoon.  Mission, the datapads, if you will."

The blue Twi'lek handed everyone a datapad, but was left without one for herself.  Apparently, she didn't like this and ended up pouting in her chair.

Revan ignored this and scrolled through her own pad.  "Scourge will be touring the Jedi Temple, and is supposed to end this tour in the Council Chamber.  Now, we have practically unlimited access to anywhere we want in the Temple, but the Council Chamber will be slightly more difficult.  We'll have to get to a turbolift in the right tower if we're going to set up an ambush.  Everyone here, except for Mission, will be part of this."

"My job is tech."  She took a deep breath, as though she was preparing to say something terrible.  "HK will need to protect me, as my Force abilities have been diminished to barely being able to feel it."  The Jedi Master sounded calm enough, but Zayne could sense the pain that lay with those words.  He couldn't imagine losing so much, and he began to take pity on her.

"How did it happen?"  Jarael, who had been reading her datapad, now had her eyes fixed on the dark haired human's face.

"It's a long story."  Revan's voice turned from calm to icy, so Jarael got the message and dropped the topic.

"So, I'm tech, HK is my protection, Jolee is leading, and you two are the muscle.  When we face Scourge, I'll do what I can to help, but..."  Nobody needed that sentence finished.

 

"What if there are too many of them?"  Zayne finally voiced what his only concern (so far) was.

Revan turned her cold gaze to him now.  "It's a risk I'm willing to take.  If you two don't want to come, tell me now."

Jarael squeezed his arm, and a sense of understanding passed between them through the brief contact.

"We're in."

 

\---

 

"You were very harsh to them," Jolee commented as soon as the two newcomers left.

"They need me to be.  To them, I'm just Revan, former Dark Lord of the Sith, scary as can be."  Revan's voice had lost its tone of calm and was overwhelmed by a sort of pained sadness.  Around Jolee and Mission, that was all she seemed to be anymore.  As soon as they were left alone, General and Jedi Master Revan disappeared.  The broken woman so few knew returned every time.

"And you can't let them see the nice Jedi Revan why?"  Mission thought the older woman was being completely ridiculous.  To her, even without the Force, Revan had always been strong and kind.  She just really needed to get back into the swing of things.  When they had fled down to the Undercity, the General had returned in full force.  Mission had been so hopeful that Revan was back to normal, but once the hubbub had slowed down a tiny bit, the despair crept back in.

"We can't afford to be nice anymore, Mission."  The gloom in Revan's voice was replaced with a darkness the Twi'lek had never heard before in person.  It frightened her, not for herself, Force no.  She knew the woman she had met on Taris years ago would never hurt her, but she also knew that same woman had an incredible capacity to hurt anyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still stealing kotor comics titles lol.


End file.
